Subscribe to the FEMINIST ONLINE NETWORK to stay on top of events happening in the Houston feminist community!Send an e-mail to femnet-subscribe@yahoogroups.com with Subscribe in the subject field.

PASAR (PARENTS AND STUDENTS ASSERTING RIGHTS)
Has HISD sent your child to a disciplinary alternative education program like CEP? Want to learn your rights?
Do you have an interest or the heart to help children sold into the system?
For more information please contact Brenda Jones at pasarhouston@yahoo.com

SUPPORT WOMEN'S STUDIES PROGRAMS IN HOUSTON.
University of Houston Women's Studies ProgramsThe Women's Resource Center at Rice UniversityHELP FIGHT SEX-TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN AND GIRLS
Contact Bernadine Williams at 713-731-0251 and visit The Amazon Xociety's webpages devoted to this issue (Click Here).Join us as we work to create a Houston Area Coalition on Sex-Trafficking with other Houston organizations.
ESPERANTO SOCIETY OF HOUSTON
Speak the language of peace, learn Esperanto.
Esperanto is four times easier to learn than national languages (like English, French, German, Spanish, etc.).ESH offers FREE Esperanto classes, for more info contact Alma at almaesperantist@hotmail.com or visit www.esperantohouston.org

Subject: Action Requested on EC Bill
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 17:45:16 -0500 (EST)
Dear Bernadine:
The Texas Campaign for Emergency Contraception was launched at the Texas
Legislature today! Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) filed HB 1381, to enable
Texas women to access emergency contraception (EC) pills directly through their
pharmacists. This means that Texas women can "back up their birth control"
pills with EC in case they face an unintended pregnancy.
ACTION REQUESTED: Help us get Co-authors for the Emergency Contraception (EC)
Access Bill:
Please call or email your Representative and ask them to support HB 1381, the
Emergency Contraception Access Bill, by becoming a "co-author" of the bill. To find out who your State Rep. is, go to http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/address.htm
Below are talking points you can use when contacting your Representative.
We need the Emergency Contraception Access Bill because:
* The first dose of EC must be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.
Pharmacists can provide evening and weekend access to EC.
* A doctor's prescription is currently required for EC. Women may have trouble
obtaining a doctor's appointment and prescription within 72 hours of unprotected
intercourse. This bill will remove that barrier, providing easy access to safe,
effective contraception.
* The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) endorses
over-the-counter distribution of EC to reduce the number of unintended
pregnancies and abortions in the U.S.
* Through collaborative agreements with physicians, pharmacists can already
directly provide immunizations, smoking cessation medication, and other
prescriptions.
* Three states currently allow pharmacists to dispense EC directly (AK,CA,WA)
Background on EC:
* Formerly known as the "Morning After Pill," EC is a high dose of ordinary
birth control pills that prevents pregnancy when taken within 72 hours of
unprotected intercourse.
* EC should not be confused with RU-486 (also known as the French Abortion Pill
or mifepristone), which is an abortifacient that terminates pregnancy. EC
prevents pregnancy instead of terminating pregnancy.
* Emergency contraception (EC) has the potential to reduce the number of
unintended pregnancies and abortions in the U.S. by 50%, yet only 1 in 10 women
between the ages of 18 and 44 have heard of and know the key facts critical to
using EC pills.
* An estimated 27,000 condoms break or slip every 24 hours in the U.S.,
potentially causing thousands of unintended pregnancies. EC would help prevent
these pregnancies.
* Access to EC is especially important to survivors of sexual assault, who cite
fear of pregnancy as one of their leading concerns.
Thank you!
The Staff at TARAL
**************************************************************
Texas Abortion & Reproductive Rights Action League
PO Box 684602, Austin, TX 78768
Tel. 512.462.1661
FAX: 512.462.2007, Email: info@taral.org
http://www.taral.org

"Kellog, Brown and Root Government Operations, a subsidiary of Halliburton,
provides a diverse range of services to all branches of the United States
military and other Department of Defense and government agencies.

They represent the military-industrial complex which stands to profit from
the coming war in Iraq.

On Ash Wednesday, March 5th at 5 pm concerned citizens will gather together
in a festival of resistance to local war profiteering outside the Kellog,
Brown and Root Tower at 601 Jefferson. There will be speakers, music and
symbolic burning of corporate dollars and placing of ashes made from war-profited dollars.

What: A protest/rally that will include speakers, political theater and
flyering KPR employees and downtown workers about the cost and effect of a
US led war in Iraq and KBR's involvement in it.

Where:601 Jefferson in front of the Kellog, Brown and Root tower in
downtown Houston

When: Ash Wednesday, March 5th, at 5pm

Need: Lots of concerned citizens with Signs, puppets, props, drummers,
noise-makers and a WILLINGNESS TO PREVENT WAR ON THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ and RETAKE
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY FROM THE BUSH OLIGARCHY and CORPORATE WAR PROFITEERS

*****BRING THE WAR TO THOSE THAT PROFIT FROM IT*****

The Struggle Continues. A four-day weekend of resistance, outreach,
performances, and skills development

Thursday - Stand with the Oppressed Communities

2nd National Day of Solidarity with Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians. An
opportunity to show our sisters and brothers we will not be silent as our
government tries to scapegoat and terrorize them. Testimony, statements of
support, cultural performances. 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Augustana Lutheran Church,
2001 Wheeler Ave. (between Almeda and Hwy. 288).

Friday - Five different opportunities to work for peace

8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Protest the last round of special registrations for male
immigrants from the mid-east and South Asia. Be at the INS office for
whatever portion of that time you can. Largest gatherings will be at lunch
time and between 5 & 6. Office is on Northpoint Dr. just south of Beltway 8
and west of I-45.

5 to 8 p.m. Candlelight vigil at Mecom Fountain where Montrose meets Main
St. We may have special guests this time: U.S. Cong5ress Member Sheila
Jackson Lee, who is at the forefront of the resistance in Washington; Bob
Jensen, UT Prof. of Communications and nationally known anti-war
commentator; and protest folksinger David Rovics (see next entry).

7:30 p.m. Leafleting at Mary Jane's (Fat Cat's), 4216 Washington Ave.
MoveOn, a national organization that has done wonderful outreach using a
variety of media, has formed over 400 leafleting teams in 44 states. It
produced the flyers, which are very effective. This leafleting is the first
of several in Houston (see tomorrow for the others). Meet at the front door
on Washington.

8 p.m. Concert by folksinger David Rovics. He has become something of a
fixture in the North American protest scene, performing at demonstrations
throughout the continent. Amy Goodman has said of him, "David Rovics is the
musical version of Democracy Now!” And Pete Seeger has said, “Listen to
him!” Tabling by peace and justice groups. 8 p.m. at First Unitarian
Universalist Church, 5200 Fannin at Southmore. Suggested donation $10.

8:30 p.m. Analysis of the anti-war movement by Bob Jensen, UT Prof. of
Communications and nationally known anti-war commentator. MECA, 1900 Kane
St. (west of Houston St. and south of Washington Ave.)

Saturday - Media training and leafleting

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “Media Options for Houston Activists.” Featured will be
Robert Jensen, professor of journalism at UT - Austin. Dr. Jensen has been
very successful in publishing antiwar op-ed pieces in US mainstream
newspapers, including the Chronicle. He will share his expertise with the
participants. Options for alternative media will also be explored. Potluck
lunch; all participants should bring a food item to share with others. First
Unitarian Universalist Church, 5200 Fannin St. (the Fireplace Room).

Anti-war leafleting organized by MoveON continues at three additional
locations:

2 p.m. Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 7626 Westheimer. Meet to the right of the
main entrance; be sure not to block the entrance

3:30 p.m. Central Market, Westheimer at Wesleyen. Meet at benches outside
entrance. Action timed for Central Market’s busiest time: Saturday before
dinner.
NO CHRISTMAS AS USUAL
NO WAR ON IRAQ!!
WHILE SHOPPERS IN AMERICA BUY EXPENSIVE CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR THEIR CHILDREN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
THE US GOVERNMENT PLANS TO GIVE GIFTS OF BOMBS TO THE CHILDREN OF IRAQ
On Tuesday, December 10
People across the nation will mark International Human Rights Day
By vocalizing their opposition to the Bush Administration's push
to wage an illegal and immoral war on Iraq

Please join the Houston Coalition for Justice Not War For a "No Christmas As Usual" protest at the Corner of Post Oak and Westheimer Across from the Galleria

From 5:30pm until 8pm, Tuesday, December 10

Bring signs, banners and your voice

"Either human rights are valid for everyone, or else they are just privileges"
Dr. Gino Strada
NO MORE SUFFERING ~ NO MORE WAR!
www.HoustonJusticeNotWar.org

A Splendid Symbolic Protest

I received this article from a friend today and am
going to take a $1.00 bill and put it in tomorrow's
mail to the United Nations Fund for Population
Activities.

Pass this on to as many persons as you can. We
actually could raise the money this way.
This is the address:
UN FPA (Fund for Population Activities)
220 E. 42nd St
NYC, NY 10017

The Bush administration has refused--in spite of
Congressional approval -- to send the U. S.
contribution of $34 million to the U. N. Fund for
Population Activities (UNFPA) to support family
planning, AIDS prevention, and prevention of female
genital mutilation.

So the League of Women Voters and others are asking
that 34 million Americans contribute a dollar each to
UNFPA.

From: NOW President Reply-To: NOW President To: now-action-list@now.org
Subject: now-action-list Help NOW Save the Senate
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 18:53:47 -0800

[Please feel free to forward the following to activists.]

From the National Organization for Women Action Center:

HELP SAVE THE SENATE

Dear Reproductive Rights Supporter,

In a matter of days the we could lose the only thing that stands between George W. Bush and his determination to overturn the right to safe, legal abortion -- the United States Senate. Our rights are threatened as they haven't been for thirty years, and our only hope is to elect United States Senators who will stand with us. Our opposition is on the attack, some of our best friends are in trouble, and the time to act is now. Already we have lost a stalwart champion, Sen. Paul Wellstone, and this devastating loss makes it even more important that we win every other race by a decisive margin.

NOW is using every resource of our unparalleled grassroots network of volunteers to mobilize voters who favor reproductive rights. There are four key races, each too close too call, where a handful of votes could make all the difference. We have targeted those states for special efforts, but we need your help for the last Get Out the Vote push. Take a minute to respond NOW -- it could make all the difference.

Please go to https://www.now.org/gotv.html?code=NETGOTV02A and send the most generous contribution you can to support our GOTV campaigns in Missouri, New Hampshire and Colorado, where rabid enemies of reproductive rights are running against strong champions, people we count on when the going gets tough. And, in light of recent events, we also need your help for our campaign in Minnesota, where we need to ensure that, even though there is no one who can fill Paul Wellstone's shoes, his seat is filled by a person of integrity who will stand up for women.

In each of these states and many others, NOW activists have been working hard and long. We're in the home stretch now and need that infusion of energy that can carry us over the election day finish line. Please visit https://www.now.org/gotv.html?code=NETGOTV02A and make a contribution today so we can speed that help to the targeted areas right away. There's no time to lose.

Anti-abortion leaders, described by the Washington Post as "giddy" at the prospect of reclaiming the Senate, and thus controlling both the legislative and executive branches, are preparing to ram through every crazy piece of legislation and every right wing extremist judicial nomination George Bush and John Ashcroft can come up with, starting November 6. And it's not just abortion rights at stake: It's Social Security reform, disability rights, Title IX, funding for family planning, programs to prevent violence against women, job training and childcare for working parents -- in short, everything you and I care about.

This is a fight we cannot afford to lose. NOW volunteers are making phone calls, going door to door and organizing on campuses to identify and turn out every progressive voter. But with a little extra financial support in these final days we can double and triple this organizing power. Please go to https://www.now.org/gotv.html?code=NETGOTV02A and give as generously as you can. We'll put your gift to work immediately. You can make a difference.

Please give us your support in these final hours, so we can work to ensure that that no progressive voter sits home on election day. Your help can make a real difference. I look forward to hearing from you today.
Sincerely,

Kim A. Gandy
President
National Organization for Women

==================================================
now@now.org
To unsubscribe, send a message to mailto:majordomo@now.org with the text:
unsubscribe now-action-list or visit http://www.now.org/actions/unsubscribe.html
Please *do* unsubscribe before cancelling an e-mail account.

Visit the NOW Web site at http://www.now.org/ where you can support these
efforts by joining NOW or purchasing from our catalog.

This educational seminar will address women’s mental health and well-being across the lifespan, with a focus on depression. The topics will include factors that affect mental health, the various options available for treating and maintaining mental health, and information on services and resources available for women to improve or to maintain their mental health and well-being. Experts in the field will speak and serve on a panel to answer your questions. For more information, call 713-981-7645
Visit the Daya website at www.dayahouston.org
Email Daya at info@dayahouston.org

Founded in 1996, Daya Inc. is the first Houston-based non-profit organization serving families with South Asian roots. Through peer support, advocacy and referrals, Daya strives to empower women and children affected by domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. Daya also conducts education and prevention programs to increase awareness of such issues in the community.

The mission of Rice University’s Women’s Resource Center is to increase awareness of and sensitivity to issues facing women. To provide opportunities for Rice University community members, the Women’s Resource Center coordinates educational and social activities and programs. In addition, the Center offers information and support for groups and individuals that hold an interest in women’s issues.

Sunday, October 7, 2002 ~ 7:00PM Council Member Ada Edwards Hosts Town Hall Meeting on Iraq “Iraq … War or Peace?” - The District D Town Hall Meeting will provide a forum for community members to learn more about the situation in Iraq, as well as offer an opportunity to voice their concerns and opinions.
Speakers: Ada Edwards, City Council Member, District D, and an Invited Panel of Speakers, including Congress Member Sheila Jackson Lee, Min. Robert Muhammad, TSU Professor Franklin Jones, TSU Professor Sanders Anderson, Cardinal Chimba Chui, Shrine of The Black Madonna
Place: Shrine of the Black Madonna Bookstore and Cultural Center, 5309 Martin Luther King Blvd. There is a continuing need to distribute and publicize up-to-date information about Iraq in order to educate the public. It is also critical to provide spaces where community members and local residents can express their views on the actions of their government.
In addition, Mayor Lee P. Brown recently appointed Council Member Ada Edwards as Chair of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee for Houston City Council. This Town Hall is the first in a series of forums and events that will explore these issues and solicit community involvement.

reading from and discussing
“To Mend the World: Women Reflect on 9/11”

In "To Mend the World: Women Reflect on 9/11", edited by Betty Jean Craige and Marjorie Agosín, renowned authors Toni Morrison, Julia Alvarez, Bapsi Sidhwa, Margaret Randall, Mahnaz Afkhami, Aviva Chomsky, and others offer their unique and thoughtful voices to the dialogue surrounding the events of September 11. When Agosín's keynote address for a series of lectures was postponed due to September 11, the impetus for this collection was contained in the theme of her cancelled talk: the transference of hope through women's literature. The editors’ goal is to provide healing through the voices and creative energies of 28 women from a myriad of cultures and points of view.

Marjorie Agosín is professor of Spanish at Wellesley College. A native of Chile, she has published more than 20 books of poetry, eight volumes of memoir, and six books of fiction in Spanish and English. Among her many honors, she has received the Latino Literature Prize and the United Nations Leadership Award in Human Rights.
Bapsi Sidhwa is an American citizen born in Karachi, Pakistan, reared in Lahore, and now living in Houston. Her novels include “The Crow Eaters,” “The Bride,” “An American Brat,” which will soon premiere in a stage adaptation written by Sidhwa, and “Cracking India,” which was a New York Times Notable Book for 1991 and was made into the film, “Earth,” by Deepa Mehta.
Tuesday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m.
The Rothko Chapel
1409 Sul Ross at Yupon
Although no books will be sold at The Rothko Chapel, the authors will be available for signing them. “To Mend the World” can be purchased through Asia Society Texas (713-439-0051).
The program is free of charge, but seating is limited. To reserve your space or for more information, please call 713-524-9839 or email info@rothkochapel.org

PLease take action on this info by calling Levi Strauss manufacturers.

Dear friends,

We write to you with great joy today to spread the good news that
justice has prevailed for Saipan workers. GAP Inc., Abercrombie &
Fitch, Target, J.C. Penney Company, Inc., Lane Bryant, Inc., The
Limited, Inc., and Talbots, Inc announced yesterday that they would
join the 19 other retailers in settling the Saipan Lawsuits. Levi
Strauss and Co is the only company that has not settled.

Read all the details below and CALL Levis.
CALL Robert Haas, the Chairman of Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&CO.) and the
great-great-grandnephew of the company's founder, Levi Strauss to
pressure him to live up to the American values his company
is "supposed" to symbolize.
Demand that Levis SETTLE THE SAIPAN LAWSUIT!

Retailers and Manufacturers to Fund Groundbreaking Independent
Monitoring Program To Improve Labor Conditions on U.S. Territory

The remaining U.S. clothing retailers that buy garments manufactured
on Saipan in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, and
twenty-three Saipan manufacturers have settled claims against them in
a federal class-action lawsuit alleging violations of wage and hour laws
and other workers' rights.

"These settlements open a new chapter in Saipan - for workers and
factories alike," said Al Meyerhoff, a lead attorney for the
plaintiffs and partner at Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP. "We are
delighted with the outcome and look forward to swift court approval."

The seven U.S. retailers - Abercrombie & Fitch, Target, Gap, Inc.,
J.C. Penney Company, Inc., Lane Bryant, Inc., The Limited, Inc., and
Talbots, Inc. - join 19 other retailers that had previously settled.
The agreement adopts a code of conduct and funds independent
monitoring of factories on Saipan. The parties have agreed to explore using the International Labor Organization (ILO), an adjunct of the United
Nations, as a monitoring body.

Each company will make a one-time contribution to a fund that will
finance the monitoring program and compensate more than 30,000 garment
workers, and cover administration costs and attorneys' fees. Today's
agreement brings the total settlement fund to more than $20 million.
$8.75 million will come from the previously settled retailers and the
remainder, $11.25 million, will come from the remaining 23
manufacturers and 7 retailers. The settlement requires court approval
and does not involve an admission of wrongdoing by the defendants.
Milberg Weiss Hynes & Lerach LLP, one of the law firms representing
the workers, agreed to waive all of its attorneys' fees as part of the
agreement.

Today's settlements, if approved by the Federal Court in the U.S.
Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, will bring to a close
more than three years of hard-fought litigation between the plaintiffs
and the settling defendants alleging that Saipan's garment industry
violated U.S. labor and human rights laws.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of immigrant workers from nearby Asian
countries who, the plaintiffs alleged, were drawn to Saipan with
promises of high pay but then allegedly encountered a pattern of long
hours, low pay and other objectionable working conditions. The Saipan
garment factories produce more than one billion dollars worth of
clothing sold annually in U.S. stores.

The manufacturers agree as a condition of the settlement to comply
with strict employment standards, including a guarantee of extra pay for
overtime work, safe food and drinking water, and other basic workers'
rights. Workers who want to return to their home countries also will
be eligible for up to $3,000 in relocation fees.

"This agreement sets up an independent monitoring system that assures
that workers will be treated with dignity. A policy of human rights
has arrived in Saipan," commented Medea Benjamin, President of Global
Exchange.

A panel of three retired judges will be set up to oversee monitoring.
The panel will have the power to conduct unannounced inspections of
the
factories and investigate worker complaints. The judges can order
payment of back wages, establish cures for violations found by the
monitors and, in worst cases, place manufacturers on probation for
repeated and systematic non-compliance with the code of conduct.
"Consumers who buy clothes labeled 'Made in the U.S.A.' assume that
American law protects the workers who sew them. This historic
settlement makes that assumption a reality, fully guaranteeing legal
rights for all Saipan garment workers. The result is a victory for
American consumers and for the workers themselves," said Michael
Rubin,
a lead attorney for the workers and a partner at Altshuler Berzon
Nussbaum Rubin & Demain in San Francisco.
"This case breaks new ground" said UNITE head Bruce Raynor. "Under
this agreement, defendants have established a program that will assure the
rights of garment workers are fully and effectively protected. This
has been a long road and we're pleased it has come to a successful
conclusion."

"While we have far to go to protect the rights of garment workers
internationally, this settlement is a significant victory because it
makes clear that manufacturers will be held accountable for their
actions," according to Joannie Chang, Employment and Labor Director,
Asian Law Caucus of San Francisco.

"We're happy that this long fight has finally reached an agreement,"
said Victor Narro, Co-Director of Sweatshop Watch. "We believe that
defendants are responsible to the workers. Levi's - which
incomprehensibly is still opposing this settlement - especially needs
to heed this advice."

One final defendant, Levi Strauss & Co., has not agreed to the
settlement, but stopped purchasing garments from Saipan after the
lawsuit was filed.
###
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, September 27, 2002 (SF Chronicle)
Clothiers fold on sweatshop lawsuit/Saipan workers to get millions;
Levi holds out Robert Collier, Jenny Strasburg, Chronicle Staff Writers

Ending a three-year legal battle, 26 of America's biggest clothing
retailers have settled a class-action lawsuit over alleged sweatshop
abuses on Saipan, a U.S. island in the western Pacific.

In the agreement, announced Thursday, San Francisco's Gap Inc.,
six other U. S. firms and 23 local manufacturers on Saipan joined 19 retailers
that had previously agreed to a settlement. The deal creates a $20 million
fund to pay back wages to workers and create a monitoring system to prevent
labor abuses.

Levi Strauss & Co., a $4 billion company that sells jeans, khakis
and casual separates under the Levi and Dockers brands, refused to settle
and will continue to fight the lawsuit.

The groups that brought the suit -- Asian Law Caucus and Global
Exchange, both of San Francisco, Sweatshop Watch of Oakland and the Union of
Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees -- said the settlement
would bring new pressure to end exploitation in the vast network of
foreign factories that cater to U.S. consumers' fashion appetites.

"This is a significant victory because it pushes the envelope on
how far workers and consumers can press retailers to be responsible for the
conditions under which our clothes are made," said Nikki Bas, co-
director of Sweatshop Watch.

Bas and other plaintiffs said the deal would rejuvenate the
nation's anti-sweatshop movement, which has been a cause celebre on college
campuses but has been struggling to turn its noisy protests into concrete results. The deal's provisions include:

-- Monitoring: A panel of three retired judges will be set up to
oversee a program of factory monitoring, which the parties tentatively agreed
would be carried out by the International Labor Organization, a U.N.
agency. The inspectors will conduct unannounced inspections of the factories and investigate worker complaints. The judges can order payment of back
wages, establish cures for violations found by the monitors and, in worst
cases, place manufacturers on probation for repeated noncompliance with the
code of conduct.

-- Compensation: An estimated 30,000 current and former garment
workers in Saipan are eligible to share about $6.4 million for unpaid back wages.

-- Repatriation: Workers who want to return to their home
countries will be eligible for up to $3,000 in travel and relocation costs.

The settlement does not involve an admission of wrongdoing by the
defendants.

In explaining Levi's refusal to join the settlement, spokeswoman
Linda Butler said that the company had its own factory-monitoring program,
which was among the first and most far-reaching to be introduced by a global
apparel retailer.

"As we've said in the past, the allegations in the lawsuit are
just not true against our company, and we feel that settling untrue claims is a
compromise of our company's values," Butler said.

Gap Inc. spokesman Alan Marks shrugged off the effect of the
settlement, saying it would not change the company's internal monitoring process, in which about 80 inspectors oversee the contractors that make its
clothes in about 50 countries.

At least one company that settled, however, reacted bitterly.

"It is a sad fact that these lawsuits were never about the public
good," said James Hale, executive vice president for Target Corp. "They were
simply one more instance of class-action lawyers acting as publicity
profiteers by using the media to smear a company's reputation without
regard for the truth."

Saipan is one of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth
that is exempt from American labor, immigration and customs laws.

As a result of these exemptions, Saipan's billion-dollar-per-year
apparel industry is allowed to stamp its clothing with "Made in the USA" tags
and thus avoid the complex system of quotas that limits U.S. imports from
foreign nations.

In addition, the commonwealth's apparel and tourist industries are
allowed to bring about 20,000 workers annually from East Asian nations, mainly
China and the Philippines. The plaintiffs say these workers are
trapped in a kind of modern-day indentured servitude, in which workers are
forced to pay recruitment fees of as much as $5,000 each, forced to work
overtime and kept in debt with paycheck deductions for housing and food.

"If they complained, they would be fired," said Michael Rubin, the
plaintiffs' lead lawyer and a partner at Altshuler Berzon Nussbaum
Rubin & Demain in San Francisco. "They would then be deported. They did
whatever they were told to do, with whatever conditions existed."

The Marianas' minimum wage is $3.05 per hour, far less than the
$5.15 per hour minimum nationwide and $6.75 per hour in California.

Democrats in Congress, led by Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, have
tried to end the commonwealth's exemptions from U.S. law and bring it under
full federal control. But reform legislation has been repeatedly blocked by
House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

Hello All,

On Monday the 9th of September at 11 am I will be interviewing Dia Michels. She co-wrote "Money, Milk and Madness: The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding."

This book was revolutionary in 1995 and today is one of the most respected accounts and logs of what has gone awry with our politics today. It is a true-to-life history lesson and current events account of how we have put profit before babies' lives. We will interveiw for 20 or 30 minutes and take questions from you. Please call at any time if you would like to jump into the conversation. I will bring her on again if we have an abundance of calls.

The book should be available at Bookstop, not Borders though. I also encourage everyone to visit www.platypusmedia.com

LISTEN UP!! TUNE IN!! AND CHANGE OUR REALITY!!

Courtney Kresha

Producer and Host of WholeWoman, WholeMother, WholeEarth

PS for those who wanted to know, the baby is due any day now. Actually any day this month! Could be tonite, could be Sept. 30. Boy am I ready!! Thank you for your thoughts and pray for this mama who will soon have 3 babies under 5!

~ ANNOUNCEMENTS ~

The Irish Unity Committee Presents: Diana Buttu, legal advisor for the
Palestinian Authority's Negotiating Team and eyewitness to current events
in Palestine
(free and open to the public)

MAIN EVENT
Monday, August 5th
An evening of solidarity with additional speakers from the United Holy Land Fund and the Arab-American Student Assoc.
Location: Arab-American Cultural Community Center, 10555 Stancliff, Houston TX (near 59 south and Beltway 8). For directions call 832.351.3366
Contact information:
Nora Dwyer
Irish Unity Committee
713.528.1817 or 713.412.8385
email: npdwyer@hal-pc.org
website: http://users3.ev1.net/~irishunity
Ms. Buttu's visit is part of a national tour organized by The Center for Policy Analysis in Palestine in Washington DC

The July 20th presentation features Part II of the two part documentary titled:

"A Force More Powerful, Non-Violent Conflict,"

From "resistance disguised as collaboration" in Denmark, to Solidarity in Poland, and referendum in Chile, what Gandhi pioneered has been used by underdogs on every continent in every decade of the 20th century to fight for rights and freedom.

Houston Peace and Justice Center www.hpjc.orgOpen House
Sunday, July 28, 3:00 ? 6:00 p.m.
1627 W.Alabama, (just east of Dunlavy)
(Park at Fiesta if our lots are full; you will not be towed.)
From: "Emilio Bateman" Subject: June 30th forum---September 11th and the Escalating Attacks on Immigrants

Dear Friends,

We hope you'all can make it to this first of regular
monthly forums sponsored by La Resistencia. We also
welcome ideas for future topics for these forums.

We have attached the flyer in both MS Word and
Appleworks for all our PC and Mac loving friends.
Also, the text follows for those who have trouble
opening attachments.

A representative from the affected communities will
speak on the impact on their lives and civil rights

La Resistencia, will host a forum on the recent
changes in our social and political environment with
regard to all immigrants, in particular
those of Muslim, Arab and South Asian descent.

Immediately after September 11th, over 1200
immigrants, mostly from the Middle East and South
Asia, were arrested and held for months. The vast
majority were held without charges. In most cases,
their whereabouts have been secret, and they’ve had no
access to their families or attorneys, and many have
been beaten and abused.

Thousands of others have been "voluntarily
interviewed" by the FBI, and thousands more are to be
rounded up, interrogated and deported. The
government has demanded access to the school records
of foreign students, and in Florida, the federal
government is testing an ominous new policy of turning
local police into immigration agents. Racial profiling
has become official government policy, along with
indefinite detentions, military tribunals based on
secret evidence, and the seizure of the assets of
Muslim charities. Much of this repression is being
carried out under
provisions of vicious new laws such as the USA
P.A.T.R.I.0.T. Act.

A wide array of organizations and individuals have
begun to resist these outrages, including the massive
outporuing on February 20th, the
National Day of Solidarity with Muslim, Arab, and
South Asian Immigrants, and the recent National Summit
to Stop the Repression Against Muslim, Arab, and South
Asian Immigrants held in Dearborn, Michigan.

We must not allow the feelings of grief and loss felt
by people whose friends, family and loved ones died on
September 11th to be manipulated
into a justification for oppression. Please join us on
June 30, 2002 as we discuss the implications of our
government's response to September 11th.

I am happy to annouce that the next WholeMother will be on Monday the 17th at 11 am. I will be interveiwing a wonderful woman named Twila Ross who heads up a beautiful place called LifeOptions. They help pregnant homeless women/girls. It will be a very educational show as most of us have never been on the streets and we will try to dispell the myths and misinformation about these women. We will take callers towards. Please tune in and tell everyone you know. This show is not just FOR pregnant homeless girls, it is to unite all of in understanding how our sisters end up in terrible situations and how we can come together as a community to teach lifeskills and provide community and support for others.

Please join us at 11 am on Monday the 17th and remember that the show is always simucast on the internet at KPFT.org for those who are out of the hearing range!